KABUL – Days after officially declaring the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’, Taliban leader called on Afghanistan national cricket team captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, on Saturday where he extended support for the revival of ‘gentleman’s game’ in the war raged country.
Reports quoting sources said Afghan cricket captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Right-Handed Batsman Noor Ali, and former Afghan Cricket Board top official Asadullah Khan met with Taliban leader Anas Haqqani.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the problems of the Afghan team and also weigh up the strategy for the revival of the sport.
The reports said Afghanistan’s cricket series will continue as usual, including their appearance in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Azizullah Fazli returned as Afghanistan Cricket Board acting chairman. The appointment is the first major cricketing development in the country since the Taliban’s takeover.
Former ACB Chairman @AzizullahFazli has been re-appointed as ACB's acting Chairman. He will oversee ACB's leadership and course of action for the upcoming competitions. pic.twitter.com/IRqekHq7Jt
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 22, 2021
The return of Fazli to the key post came after the insurgent held a meeting with ACB officials on Sunday. Former ACB chief has been associated with the game for two decades and was among the early group of players who established the game in the country.
Earlier, armed Taliban fighters stormed into the Afghan Cricket Board Headquarters to ‘express their love for the cricket’. Hamid Shinwari, the former official said the ‘Taliban will support cricket and will not interfere with it’.
Adding that, “they have supported us since the beginning. They did not interfere in our activities. I don’t see any interference and expect support so that our cricket can move forward”.
On the other hand, Afghanistan’s top cricket players including Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Zadran, who are not in Afghanistan right now, have expressed concerns over the ongoing Taliban takeover. The celebrated cricketers also appealed to world leaders to help the war-raged nation in difficult times.
Let it be known that the Taliban, in their first presser, stated that they would impose their laws more softly than during their former regime of 1996-2001.
On August 18, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced that the three-match ODI series against Pakistan would be played as per schedule, and there is no change in the limited over series due to the change of government in the country.
However, the chances of the Pak-Afghan upcoming series, scheduled to be held in Colombo, turned bleak after Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide lockdown in wake of Covid’s resurgence. Reports claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board had earlier offered the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) to play the series in Pakistan but the proposal was rejected due to unknown reasons.
A publication claimed that Afghan cricket officials want series in Sri Lankan capital as they want the ODI series ‘to be played on a neutral venue’. The ODI series between the two neighboring countries were scheduled to take place from September 3 to 9.
